* Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief"
- Do You Reject the Concept of Lengthy or Repetitive Prayers?

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Dear Friend,

"Therefore, from the day we heard this, we do not cease praying for
you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will
through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to live in a manner
worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work
bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with
every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and
patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to
share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered us from
the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved
Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 1:9-14)

Greetings! We hope Fall has gotten off to a good start for you and
that it will continue to be a happy & holy season. The month of
October, which is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, begins with the feast of
the Guardian Angels (10/2) and the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin
Mary (10/7) and concludes with the traditional feast of Christ the King
(10/27) and All Hallows Eve/Vigil of All Saints (10/31). Also included
are feasts of beloved saints such as St. Theresa of Avila and St.
Francis of Assisi. We also look forward to a rather full calendar here
with our Fifth Annual Rosary Week scheduled from 10/21
through 10/27 and our five year anniversary falling on 10/28.

Speaking of Rosary Week, if you have not already signed up, we invite
you once again to join us. Participation is easy, free, and takes only a little
time - yet the rewards you receive may be great! Since we plan to have a
Traditional Latin Mass said for all Rosary Week participants, you'll
also get to share in the benefits of the Holy Mass in addition to the
rewards already to be had for praying the holy rosary. Please join us!
Sign up today at
www.MyCatholicSource.com/RosaryWeek

Thank you very much for your support & participation.

Best wishes to you for God's blessings,

Your Friends at MyCatholicSource.com

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Prayer to Christ the King: "O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee to be
the King of the universe; all that hath been made is created for Thee.
Exercise over me all Thy sovereign rights. I hereby renew the promises
of my Baptism, renouncing Satan and all his works and pomps, and I
engage myself to lead henceforth a truly Christian life. And in an
especial manner do I undertake to bring about the triumph of the rights
of God and Thy Church, so far as in me lies. Divine Heart of Jesus, I
offer Thee my poor actions to obtain the acknowledgement by every heart
of Thy sacred kingly power. In such wise may the kingdom of Thy peace be
firmly established throughout all the earth. Amen." (Raccolta)

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MCS News & Notes

* Last chance to sign up for our Fifth Annual Rosary Week (10/21/13 -
10/27/13): Don't miss out! Please sign up today for this FREE
event at
www.MyCatholicSource.com/RosaryWeek . Don't pray the rosary? Why not
start now? Already pray the rosary? Why not join us for a few extra
rosaries? We're confident that you'll be glad you participated in this
powerful, yet easy & 'hassle-free' Catholic event. Why not also
invite your friends to join? [Note: If you'd like help praying the
rosary, please visit
http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/rosary/how_to_pray_the_rosary.htm
]

* October 28 marks fifth
anniversary of the official unveiling of MyCatholicSource.com. We send
our thanks to all visitors for their support over these past five years.
We hope, by God's grace, to be able to continue to remain online for
years to come. Prayer of Thanksgiving: "With all our heart and voice, we
acknowledge, we praise, and we bless Thee, God the Father unbegotten,
Thee, the only-begotten Son, Thee, the Holy Ghost the Paraclete, O holy
and undivided Trinity." (Raccolta)

* New Online Forms: We
have changed to a new style of online forms for posts. These new forms are
able to provide more immediate validation information to users. For
assistance with the new forms, please visit
http://mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_forms_assistance.htm . We
hope you will like the new forms! Also, please visit
http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/fdb/transition_feedback.htm to
tell us what you think about our new forms. We love to hear from you! [Note: Data submitted via online forms may be sent to us via e-mail.
To avoid having posts filtered out as spam, please avoid using certain
keywords (e.g. common spam keywords). Thank you.]

* Due to an increase in
the volume of junk e-mail received, we are now limiting various e-mail accounts
so that they will no longer receive outside e-mail. E-mail sent to these
accounts from outside our server may simply be deleted with no
notification sent. If you have trouble getting e-mail through to us,
please try our online forms instead (e.g. the 'quick feedback' form at
http://mycatholicsource.com/mcs/fdb/quick_feedback.htm )

* Please note that the
` character is now restricted on various forms. The quotation mark
character (") may also be disallowed. Please do not attempt to include
these character(s) with your submissions (except where allowed). Thank
you.

* Reminder: There will be
an interruption in many of our services in early October due to
vacations. Services affected may include: lending library, live chat,
post / ad / order processing, subscription processing, correspondence,
site/blog updates, etc. Although
you may notice delays in the above services, access to the
MyCatholicSource.com website itself should NOT be affected. For details,
please visit
http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/notices.htm

* For centuries, numerous popes, saints, and others have strongly
encouraged all to pray the rosary. In fact, the Blessed Virgin herself
has urged us to pray the holy rosary. We would also like to encourage
all subscribers to pray the rosary daily - and October is a great month
to start. Please see
http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/rosary/daily_rosary.htm for
reasons to pray the rosary daily. "I beg of you to beware of thinking of
the rosary as something of little importance - as do ignorant people and
even several great but proud scholars. Far from being insignificant, the
rosary is a priceless treasure which is inspired by God." (St. Louis de
Montfort)

* Feast of St. Francis (10/4): Why not celebrate the feast of St.
Francis of Assisi by reviewing biographical information on this great saint,
reading some of his inspiring writings, or praying some of his beautiful
prayers? You can find this and more at the St. Francis Section at
http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/saint_francis_page.htm . And
while you're there, why not add your pet's name to the list of special
pets? This is a must-see section for animal lovers.

* Reminder: October 27 is
the traditional feast of Christ the King. As you may know, the motto of our site, "Christ the King", took root from the
encyclical of Pope Pius XI entitled "Quas Primas". This encyclical makes
great reading for the month of October. To view Quas Primas, please
visit
http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/quas_primas.htm

* With the recent introduction of iOS7 ("the most significant update
since the original iPhone" according to Apple), some of our apps have
experienced issues [e.g. extraneous text appears in the iOS version of
iStations (on the main page) & in our Catholic Bible References app (on
the search screen), and the top border color is off in our Just Checkin'
In app]. These issues were NOT present in earlier versions of the iOS
and, thankfully, they do NOT seem to affect the functionality of these
apps. At this time, we are looking into (but not guaranteeing) possible
resolutions for these issues. Please contact us with any feedback
concerning these issues. Thank you.

* Regrettably, our Saints4U app is NOT compatible with iOS7. We are
considering updating or discontinuing this app. While we strongly
believe this is a great app for locating patron saints, saint names &
feasts, we are not presently sure that we can justify the expense of
re-coding this app to work with the new iOS. Please contact us with
any feedback concerning this issue. Thank you.

* Did you know? Research indicates that most apps 'struggle to break
even' from their initial costs. Furthermore, keeping up with changing
operating systems & technology can be very costly for developers (e.g.
to upgrade developer operating systems, to learn new methods, to re-code
& test apps on new systems, to redo marketing materials, etc.). App
developers face tough competition and constantly have to worry about new
entrants, updated algorithms affecting their ranking, satisfying high
customer expectations with little corresponding sales revenue per app,
ongoing difficulty getting persons to review apps, fear of being
hampered by undeserved negative app reviews...just to name a few things.
While it is true that we have recovered our initial costs for
development, our app sales are not yet able to sustain our site, much
less being able to compensate us for ongoing development costs (e.g.
re-coding apps). We are trying to do the best we can with app
development, but it is extremely challenging. [Did you know? You can
help developers continue by posting your positive/5-star reviews. Those
really help. Persons who leave unfair negative (and often uncharitable)
reviews actually do themselves a disservice as this may cause the app to
fall down in the rankings, costing the developer money and possibly
reducing the likelihood of future free updates.]

* Help keep us online! You
can donate from $1 using PayPal at
http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/donate.htm [note that we do
NOT sell donor information to third parties and we do NOT contact you
about your donation unless it is necessary (e.g. processing problems)].
Thank you for your much needed support!

"[E]xperience shows that no sooner do the people commence to practice
this devotion that they open their hearts to the largest channel of
grace, so as to be flooded with heavenly gifts." (Muller)

"We desire very earnestly, Venerable Brethren, that the Holy Rosary
should be recited in a special manner in the month of October and with
increased devotion both in the churches and in homes." (Pope Pius XI, "Ingravescentibus
Malis", 1937 A.D.)

"Next to the holy sacrifice of the Mass, there is, indeed, nothing
more terrifying to [the devil], nor does he bear a more implacable
hatred to anything than to the devotion of the Rosary." (Muller)

"Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This
is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood." (St. Louis de
Montfort)

"How great is the power and mercy of the Blessed Virgin for those who
are faithful in the practice of the Rosary! If you wish then, to save
your soul, practice the devotion of the Rosary with fervor and
perseverance. If you wish to save the souls of those who are near and
dear to you, try to introduce this devotion without delay into your
family." (Muller)

"We decreed by an Encyclical Letter that, to win the help of Heaven
for the Church in her trials, the great Mother of God should be honored
by the means of the most holy Rosary during the whole of the month of
October. In this We followed both Our own impulse and the example of Our
predecessors, who in times of difficulty were wont to have recourse with
increased fervor to the Blessed Virgin, and to seek her aid with special
prayers." (Pope Leo XIII, "Superiore Anno", 1884 A.D.)

"[M]ay the beads of the Rosary be in the hands of all" (Pope Pius
XII, "Ad Caeli Reginam", 1954 A.D.)

The following is taken from a 20th
century Catholic Hymnal. The original publication bears an imprimatur. [Note: We have made some changes to the
original text (e.g. punctuation, capitalization & spelling changes)]

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Dear Angel, ever at my side, how loving
thou must be to leave thy home in heaven to guard a sinful child like
me; For thou were with me from the hour when I first drew my breath, and
thou shalt be my faithful friend, unfailing, till my death.

Dear Angel, let my every thought, from
morning till close of day, my every action, every word, my love of God
display; That thus, celestial friend, with thee and by thy constant
care, I may the world's corruption flee, that would my soul ensnare.

Dear Angel, to repay thy care, more holy
will I be; But I am weak, and when I fall, oh, weary not of me: Oh,
weary not, but guard me still, and make me mind thee more; And guide me
safely, till I come to heaven's eternal shore.

The following is taken from a 19th
century 'Family Prayer Book'. Although an imprimatur was not located on
the publication, the work indicates it has the approval of the Vicar
Apostolic. [Note: We have made some changes to the
original text (e.g. spelling, capitalization & wording changes)]

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Conducted by thy Providence, O God,
through the toils, the vexations, the turmoils, and the business of this
day, I present myself before Thee to beg pardon of all my failings, and
to acknowledge that Goodness which has upheld me in all my difficulties.
Notwithstanding my renewed professions of resignation, I have offended
Thee by attaching too much importance to the things of this world; by
forgetting that Thou didst call upon me, and offer interests true and
eternal. But, O Lord, Thou knowest my weakness; and I can only again
confess mine unworthiness, and pray Thee to enable me now to seek into
the state of my soul that I may unite myself more firmly to Thee before
this day be for ever past away.

Oh, forgive me all my sins before I
sleep; and grant that I may wake in the morning with a strong and
lasting resolve to work out my salvation. Assist my weak endeavors that
I may grow in grace as I grow in years. Cleanse my heart from all those
corrupt dispositions which are offensive to Thee; from pride, wrath,
selfishness, and inattention to serious things. To my sense of mine
unworthiness, let me add real sorrow; and to sorrow, a sincere purpose
of amendment. May I always reverence Thy holy name, Thy Church, Thy word
and ordinances. May I be ever just, mild, and compassionate to others:
temperate, chaste, and humble in the government of my passions: content
with my condition: and although diligent in my business, yet ever
mindful to heap up to myself treasures there where no foe can break in
upon my hoard.

Where I err, let me amend; and where I
amend, let me give the glory to Thee, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my
Sanctifier.

Bless all my relations and friends, and
especially those who are near and dear unto me; and grant that I may
never give pain to those for whom I am beseeching thy mercy. Accept the
prayers, and pardon the imperfections, of all, through the merits of Thy
Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

10/27/13 - Feast of the
Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ (T) [Refresher re: traditional timing
of this feast: "It is not necessary,
Venerable Brethren, that We should explain to you at any length why We
have decreed that this feast of the Kingship of Christ should be
observed in addition to those other feasts in which his kingly dignity
is already signified and celebrated. It will suffice to remark that
although in all the feasts of our Lord the material object of worship is
Christ, nevertheless their formal object is something quite distinct
from his royal title and dignity. We have commanded its observance on a
Sunday in order that not only the clergy may perform their duty by
saying Mass and reciting the Office, but that the laity too, free from
their daily tasks, may in a spirit of holy joy give ample testimony of
their obedience and subjection to Christ. The last Sunday of October
seemed the most convenient of all for this purpose, because it is at the
end of the liturgical year, and thus the feast of the Kingship of Christ
sets the crowning glory upon the mysteries of the life of Christ already
commemorated during the year, and, before celebrating the triumph of all
the Saints, we proclaim and extol the glory of him who triumphs in all
the Saints and in all the Elect." (Pope Pius XI, "Quas Primas", 1925
A.D.)]

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'Catholic Trivia'

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Note: This month all trivia items are themed.
[Theme: Angels]

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1.
Which is the highest of the nine choirs of
angels?

2. What choirs of angels are "agents of
strength"?

3. What are the names of three angels as
given in Holy Scripture? What do their names mean?

4. Who said...? "If you find it impossible
to pray, hide behind your good angel and charge him to pray in your
stead."

5. Who in Genesis wrestled with an angel?

6. What do the seven angels have in Rv. (Apoc.)
15:1?

7. Which angels were stationed to guard the
tree of life after the Fall?

8. What do our guardian angels do for us?

9. Were angels ever sent to punish men?

10.
What is the difference between a
saint and an angel?

---

Answers:

1.
Seraphim are the highest of the nine choirs
of angels.

2. Principalities and powers are "agents of
strength".

3. Three angels named in the Bible are:
Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael. The angel names mean: God heals
(Raphael), The power of God (Gabriel), and Who is like God? (Michael).

4. St. John Vianney

5. In Genesis, Jacob wrestled with an
angel.

6. "Then I saw in heaven another sign,
great and awe-inspiring: seven angels with the seven last plagues, for
through them God's fury is accomplished." (Rv. 15:1)

7. After the Fall, Cherubim were stationed
to guard the tree of life.

8. "Our guardian angels pray for us,
protect and guide us, and offer our prayers, good works and desires to
God." (Baltimore Catechism)

9. "Angels were sometimes sent to punish
men. An angel killed 185,000 men in the army of a wicked king who had
blasphemed God; and an Angel also slew the first-born in the families of
the Egyptians who had persecuted God's people." (Baltimore
Catechism)

10.
"The saints lived upon the earth in bodies like our own. The angels
never inhabited the earth, though they visit it and remain for a time
with us. They have not now and never will have bodies." (Baltimore
Catechism)

Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" -
Do You Reject the Concept of Lengthy or Repetitive Prayers?

It is good for Catholics to be able to defend their faith against
attacks (or even simple questions) from those outside the Church. We
therefore hope you may find the following "apologetics brief" helpful.

The following may be used as discussion points when discoursing with
those outside the Church (or even among Catholics).

Topic: Do You Reject the Concept of Lengthy or Repetitive Prayers? [Note: Topic is directed at
certain Protestants]

Consider:

* If Christ opposed the repeating of
prayer, why did He Himself repeat his prayer (e.g. see Mt. 26:44, Mk.
14:39)?

* If prayer should not be repeated, why
does Scripture show the heavenly creatures repeating prayer?

Rv. 4:8:
The four living creatures, each of
them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and
night they do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God
almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come."

* If prayer should not be repeated, why
does Scripture praise those who are persistent in prayer (e.g. see Lk.
18:1-8)?

* How can Scripture instruct us to "Pray
without ceasing" (1 Thes. 5:17), if we are not to repeat our prayers?

* How can Christ be opposed to lengthy
prayer considering that He "spent the night in prayer to God" (see Lk.
6:12)?

* Do you base your rejection of lengthy
prayer on the following Scripture passages?

Mk. 12:38-40: In the
course of his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go
around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of
honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the
houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will
receive a very severe condemnation."

Lk. 20:45-47: Then,
within the hearing of all the people, he said to (his) disciples, "Be on
guard against the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and love
greetings in marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of
honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext,
recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation."

Canyou not see that
Jesus is condemning lengthy prayers said as a pretext? Jesus'
words certainly cannot be said to apply to sincere, heartfelt prayers!

* Do you base your rejection of repetitive
prayer on Mt. 6:7-8 ("In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who
think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be
like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.")? In
light of Christ's spending whole nights in prayer and the Apostle
telling us to pray without ceasing, can you not see that lengthy prayers
are not prohibited per se? Rather, "we are not to act as though God
needs to hear many words in order to know our wants". Clearly we are not
prohibited from spending much time in prayer - but are rather instructed
to do so.

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"This practice of praying in spirit is
peculiar to Christians, and is not at all used by infidels. Of these
Christ the Lord has said: When you pray, speak not much, as the
heathens; for they think that in their much speaking they may be heard.
Be not ye, therefore, like to them, for your Father knoweth what is
needful for you before you ask him. But though (our Lord) prohibits
loquacity, He is so far from forbidding continuance of prayer which
proceeds from the eager and prolonged devotion of the soul that by His
own example He exhorts us to such prayer. Not only did He spend whole
nights in prayer, but also prayed the third time, saying the self-same
words. The inference, therefore, to be drawn from the prohibition is
that prayers consisting of mere empty sounds are not to be addressed to
God." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)

"If, therefore, the rulers of nations wish to preserve their
authority, to promote and increase the prosperity of their countries,
they will not neglect the public duty of reverence and obedience to the
rule of Christ." (Pope Pius XI)

"He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And
the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he
shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever." (Lk. 1:32)

"It is impossible to meditate with devotion upon the mysteries of the
Rosary and live in a state of sin." (St. John Vianney)

"O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, His death and His
resurrection hath purchased for us the reward of eternal salvation;
grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating on these mysteries in the most
holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they
contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Lord." (10/7
Collect)

"I have no better way of knowing if a man is for God than if he likes
to say the Hail Mary and the Rosary." (St. Louis de Montfort)

"In every place show respect to thy angel. Let gratitude for his
benefits incite thee to honor his greatness. Love this thy future
coheir, the guardian appointed for thee by the Father during thy
childhood. For though we are souls of God, we are as yet but children,
and long and dangerous is our journey. But God hath given His angels
charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone...Yes; where
the road is smooth enough for a child they will content themselves with
guiding thee, and sustaining thy footsteps, as one does for children.
But if trials threaten to surpass thy strength, they will bear thee up
in their hands. Oh those hands of angels! Thanks to them, what fearful
straits we have passed through, as it were without thinking, and with no
other impression left upon us, than that of a nightmare suddenly
dispelled!" (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church)